Oya Kaigan and Pretending to be Japanese

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Mrs. Chiba dancing

Festival coming through

Into the ocean...keep going

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My 3 day weekend has gone pretty well. I still have a day to recover from sore shoulders and get my stomach feeling a little better. The Chiba's are some of the most wonderful people I have ever met. They opened their home to me for only 1 night but I felt like I was apart of their family. 151 pictures taken in over 36 hours ain't bad at all. A little bit of fun information, Oya Kaigan is known for Mambo, or Head fish. Look it up on google and you will see the hugest fish. They have one in a rather small tank in the station. Its a baby and its 2.3 meters long and weighs over a ton.

I left Sendai on the 8:51 train. I went over to the station the day before to make sure I knew where the train was going to be leaving from. by 10:41am I was in Oya Kaigan and walking back to the Chiba's house for some lunch and then start some traditional Japanese cooking. We watched the raising of the festival flag, there was about 4 in total. Each flag was a place where the shrine would visit and bless the next day. Dinner was early because Mrs. Chiba was going to be dancing with some of the older grandmas of the city as part of the opening for the festival. So we made some fish-meatball soup and cooked some delicious fish. Dinner was a huge spread that I had to take a picture of. There was yakitori (chicken skewers), sashimi, special rice, the fish-meatball soup I helped make, and more fish. Since Oya Kaigan is right on the coast seafood was very much apart of every meal we ate. And I mean ever meal we ate.

Before dinner Hajime and I went for a quick walk to pick up some last minute ingredients for the next days meal and to just walk around the city. We first went to the wholesale seafood place where they have the fishermen's pictures hanging up over their catch. Live octopus, sharks, and some type of sea slug were all hanging out in tanks waiting to be somebodies dinner. The fact that the fishermen's pictures were up was my favorite part. The whole town in connected to the sea and to be reminded of that every time you go to buy your daily fish just makes it more part of you. I guess Oya Kaigan can be considered inaka, or countryside, but I didn't feel that way to me. It was on a train line and there was just so much character there. Granted, there was a lot of farmland. I think almost every family in the city had a plot of farmland. Hajime showed me where the center of the city used to be and way it wasn't there anymore. There was a tsunami that destroyed the village so the whole village was shifted to the higher hills and plains of the area. Now, new houses have been built and the old land has been converted into patty fields. All of which have been harvested already. We walked along the new harbor and Hajime told me how most of where we were walking hadn't been there when he was still a boy living in Oya Kaigan. Walking around with him made me feel a little more connected to Oya Kaigan myself.

After dinner Hajime took me to Mr. Iwashita's house to introduce me and to visit until we went to see Mrs. Chiba dance at the town hall. Since I was a guest they brought out some food, okra and onion and some specialty of the area, I can't remember the name, and some beer. We sat and chatted for a little while and then ran back to the Chiba's and then off to watch Mrs. Chiba dance. We sat and watched, I took a video, and then were back to Iwashita's house and drinking again. Much to my embarrassment I had too much to drink. I mixed and got a little sick back at the Chiba's and very drunk. I ended up sleeping in the family room in case I needed to run to the bathroom and given a newspaper lined bowl in case of an emergency. I slept till around 8:30am and most of the family seemed to think I was very amusing. Being young and everything. Still, it was not one of my finer moments.

We had breakfast and then Hajime, Mrs. Chiba and I went out to an old shrine that is on the outskirts of Oya Kaigan. It was absolutely beautiful and untarnished by tourists. The shrine was built in the same style of the famous Kiyumizu-dera in Kyoto and is a decent size. It sits in the middle of a beautiful forest and has a tad bit of a hike stairway that is just amazing. Its taken care of by a priest but other then that it was still and peaceful. Hajime explained to me all about the shrine, why it was built, and how the town has basically forgotten all about it. Its such a shame. The shrine is beautiful and deserves people going there just to visit it. We drove back into town in time of Hajime to run to the town council meeting for the festival. I took a short walk around town, came back for a little lunch, relax, back up my pack and then it was time for the festival.

We scurried across the street and waited for a couple minutes then there was a small crowd of running young men carrying the shrine on their shoulders. You guessed it everybody, I became apart of the festival. First, the toss all new comers into the air. I got it done twice for the sake of Hajime's camera. Second, I borrowed Iwashita's festival uniform and then I was placed right in front of the carriers. I'm not sure how those guys felt about having me there. I just tried to take my weight and run when they said 'dash'. We dashed to all 4 stops and a couple unscheduled stops. We would run, spin the shrine in a circle while tossing it into the air, and then place it in the appointed spot and then rest. Each stop I was introduced to another elder. I think the entire city knows that I drank a little too much because Iwashita-san was telling everybody. The whole town must think I am the biggest alcoholic. The priest would bless the shrine and the families who came and then we would drink then do it all over again. We had 4 stops and we ended up at the beach. Traditionally, the shrine was taken into the ocean but the government decided that the people couldn't do that so now the young men carrying the shrine, minus me, walk a branch into the sea. Then we were all blessed and the shrine was walked back. Hajime and I ran to give Iwashita-san his uniform back and on the way I got to carry one of the festival flags. It was so much fun.

After giving Iwashita-san his uniform back Hajime and I walked back to his house and made a pit stop where his mother and other older folk were sitting around drinking home made plum wine. I was then given more drink and asked to sing some songs. The old man called me 'America no Kathryn' and I sang them 'Twinkle Little Star' and 'Dea Oh'. Another gentlemen was asked to sing; which he did beautifully, and then we were packed up and I was on my way to the station and back to Sendai by 4:10pm.

Oya Kaigan was beautiful and peaceful. The more I walked around the more I wanted to set up a little hostel and have my sister start a garden. It was pretty cold but the people were so nice and the food was delicious. I felt the same way when I was in Ishinomaki. I wished I lived there because it wasn't as busy as Sendai is. I found the ocean and the people so peaceful and good for me. When I told Hajime that he chuckled and told me I could get some land when I asked the council for it. It doesn't sound like a bad idea to me.

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Photos

Raising the flag
kicking off the festival

Comments

[LebdaWhen]

Great Pictures
Kathryn - I love this pictures from this trip. A great view into the life of your new friends, lots of people and lots of you! LebdaWhen

[liliram]

Enjoying ur blogs
Glad to discover your blogs. I've been to Tokyo and that's it. Meaning to go back, and visit some other places around Japan. Your blogs are just what I need. So glad to discover them. Thanks for sharing. I love your insights and adventures, as well as your photographs.